How to set up your own home cinema system – an in-depth buyer’s guide

We explain everything you should know about home cinema, plus give our top recommendations on the kit you need

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on purchases made through one of these links but this never influences our experts’ opinions. Products are tested and reviewed independently of commercial initiatives. Find out more here.

TV has gotten a whole lot more cinematic of late. From the grand sweep of Game of Thrones to the Bourne-style action of Jack Ryan, our favourite TV shows now boast production values equal to anything you’ll find in your local multiplex. They look better and sound bigger than anything that’s gone on the box before.

It’s only fitting your sound and vision system be good enough to do them justice.

Home cinema has been a hobby (nay passion) for many for decades. Even before the advent of home video, super 8mm film collectors would gather around their Eumig projectors for big-screen thrills. This preoccupation boomed during the VHS era, and evolved again with the advent of digital.

Today, it’s entirely possible to own a home system that rivals the thrills offered by a commercial cinema – minus oiks Snapchatting during the movie – and you don’t even need extravagantly deep pockets or a cavernous spare room to have one.

Dedicated cinema room or living room? Both will work…

The ultimate home cinema dream is a dedicated room. It’s not uncommon for fans to convert a garage space or repurpose their loft. If this sounds a bit of a challenge, there are plenty of specialist installers able to take on this kind of project for you, whether your budget is modest (think new conservatory) or indulgent (think extension). To find a local expert, visit the website of industry trade association CEDIA.

Of course, if there’s no structural work needed, and you simply want to invest in the kit, it’s just a case of understanding the options, and then deciding what to buy. Enter the ibuys cast of experts, stage left…

Making sense of cinematic audio – from 5.1 to Dolby Atmos

A good home cinema is nought without great audio. Surround sound is common to almost all movies and big TV shows these days. The de facto surround mix, known as 5.1, comprises of five channels (three at the front and two at the rear), with a deep bass subwoofer providing the “point” one.

5.1 sound systems were all the rage during the early days of DVD and still do a solid job today, although there are now more sophisticated options.

7.1 systems, unsurprisingly, add two more rear speakers, for better steerage for sounds that pan around the room. However, the big buzz in home theatre audio is Dolby Atmos. As heard in top flight cinemas, the Dolby system adds a height component to the soundtrack mix, so audio can appear to come from above your head.

This is typically achieved using dedicated speakers which up-fire and bounce sounds off the ceiling. The end result is total immersion.

Soundbar or AV receiver – which one is right for you?

If you’re in any way serious about cinema sound, forget that noise your TV makes. You’ll want something a good deal more substantial.

At the very least, home cinephiles should aspire to own a soundbar. While there’s no shortage of inexpensive stereo soundbars available, our advice is look to for one with an integrated Dolby Atmos decoder. These tend to offer a cinematic “wall of sound”.

Sony HT ZF9 Soundbar

One of our favourites, the £598 Sony HT-ZF9, boasts an ingenious digital signal processing system called a Vertical Sound Engine to create overhead effects.

Samsung HW-N850 Soundbar

The rival £899 Samsung HW-N850 isn’t quite so clever, but competes with features no fewer than 13 speaker drivers. Unlucky for some (most likely your neighbours).

LG SK10Y Soundbar

Also look out for the £499 Samsung HW-Q60R, with Acoustic Beam technology – a clever speaker design that fires through a pattern of fine holes to create a panoramic soundstage. Also check out the huge £769 LG SK10Y (pictured above), produced in partnership with UK Hi-Fi company Meridian.

Buy a soundbar if you want: Big performance without any setup complexity. Think of them as a one box solution for cinema sound. For more soundbar recommendations, check out our latest reviews.

For really convincing theatrical audio though, you can’t beat an AV receiver (or AVR). These multi-channel monsters offer Hulk-like amplification for seven channels or more. They also function as a hub for all your gadgets. Obviously, you’ll also need to add loudspeakers.

AV receivers come in two flavours, slimline and humongous. Thinner models are the most living room friendly, but larger models can get more boisterous.

Marantz NR1609

The £439 Marantz NR1609 is our slimline favourite. With an elegant curved fascia, it’ll warrant wistful stares, and with no fewer than eight HDMI inputs, you’ll not run out of places to plug things.

The NR1609 is a seven channel design, which means it supports either 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos (five speakers front and rear, one sub, and two height channels) or 7.1 Dolby Surround. Power output is rated at 90w per channel. We found it smooth, dynamic and detailed.

Yamaha RX-A3080

At the other end of the spectrum you’ll find the Yamaha RX-A3080, a ferociously specified nine channel Dolby Atmos AV behemoth, able to run Dolby Atmos 5.2.4, or a 7.2 speaker layout, with additional stereo amplification to a second room (if you’re feeling generous).

The Yamaha’s power output is rated at 150W per channel, just the thing if you want to make Avengers Endgame sound like End of Days. In addition to seven HDMI inputs, there are three HDMI outputs, which means the RX-A3080 can feed video to both a TV and a projector in the same room, at the same time.

Buy a home cinema receiver if you want: Antisocial levels of surround sound, and don’t mind speakers all around…

Sorted your sound? Now add a Dolby Atmos speaker package…

Unless you live in a loft apartment, or have a dedicated cinema space, you’re probably going to find it a challenge to accommodate eight speakers or more in a single room. The answer is the Focal Sib Evo, a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 speaker system that takes up remarkably little space.

Focal Sib Evo

The package comprises of two compact Sib Evo Dolby Atmos speakers, to handle left, right and height duties, a slim Cub Evo subwoofer and three small Sib Evo satellites, for centre and rear surround.

How big should I go – jumbo TV or home cinema projector?

Clearly any home cinema TV needs to be an (un)reasonable size. 55-inches barely cuts the mustard.

The 75-inch Q60R is more like it. The slimmest of Samsung’s 2019 QLED models, it sells for around£2,700 and presents dynamic 4k HDR (High Dynamic Range) pictures with vibrant colour, It also has plenty of clever connected features, and boasts voice control.

If you want to get properly cinematic though, then projection is the way to go.

The Optoma UHD51A projector provides excellent image quality.

The Optoma UHD51A is a 4K HDR projector that can throw an ultra-sharp 120-inch image across a white wall or onto a dedicated screen, from little over 3m.

Gloss black with a silver trim, and two HDMI inputs, it’s smart enough for living room use, and at just 5.22kg, suitable for shelf or ceiling mounting. It can even be controlled by Amazon Alexa.

Image quality is spectacular. With brightness rated at 2,400 lumens, you can use it in rooms without full light control (although obviously it looks best in a properly dark cave).

Buying tip: If you want to snag a projector bargain, look at cheaper Full HD models. The benefits of 4k resolution and HDR are less obvious on a projector than on a 4k HDR TV, so you can actually save big money by sticking with 1080p. Check our our latest projector reviews for more recommendations.

Never mind the ketchup, sort out your sources…

If you’re investing in an AV receiver, it makes sense to get the best possible sound source for your system, which is Blu-ray disc.

The player also offers Netflix and Amazon Prime Video built-in, and will work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Pioneer UDP-LX500

If you’re getting a properly posh high-end AV system, consider the £899 Pioneer UDP-LX500. This Universal Player doesn’t just spin DVD and Blu-ray discs, it’s also compatible with High-Res Super Audio CD and DVD-A discs. And at 10.3kg it’s built to last.

If you’re trying to wean yourself off physical media, our premium pay TV choice for home cinema is Sky Q. This next generation telly box offers the largest selection of movies and TV in 4k with Dolby Atmos, as well as a plethora of premium channels, including dragon-tastic Sky Atlantic.

With new movie premieres on Sky Cinema virtually every day, you’ll need to order industrial levels of popcorn just to keep up.

Our ibuys experts give impartial advice on a range of products after testing them in real-world conditions. Prices are correct at the time of publishing but may vary slightly afterwards. If you would like to suggest a product to test or have a question related to ibuys, please email us on [email protected]

We know that sometimes it’s easier for us to come to you with the news. That's why our new email newsletter will deliver a mobile-friendly snapshot of inews.co.uk to your inbox every morning, from Monday to Saturday.

This will feature the stories you need to know, as well as a curated selection of the best reads from across the site. Of course, you can easily opt out at any time, but we're confident that you won't.

Oliver Duff, Editor

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button below, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.